Minnesota Lawsuit Asks Court to Get a Jump on State Redistricting

By EditorMar 01, 2021
The delayed census redistricting data delivery schedule has put many states in a bind as they run up against state constitutional and statutory deadlines for redistricting. In Minnesota, the deadline for drawing a congressional map is in February of 2022, but the state has a decades-long history of not accomplishing the task. A new lawsuit filed in state court seeks to get ahead of the problem. According to the lawsuit filed on the 19th, the situation is dire. Population projections indicate that the state may lose a congressional seat in the upcoming apportionment scheduled to be released later this Spring.…
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The Census Bureau Sets a Target Date for Long-awaited Redistricting Data Delivery to the States

The Census Bureau Sets a Target Date for Long-awaited Redistricting Data Delivery to the States

By EditorFeb 12, 2021
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today the target date for delivering redistricting data to the states; the final component needed to redraw congressional and legislative lines. The relevant excerpts from the bureau's official blog are below. The press release is here. James Whitehorne, Chief of the Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office, U.S. Census Bureau: If this were a typical decade, we would be on the verge of delivering the first round of redistricting data from the 2020 Census. Our original plan was to deliver the data in state groupings starting Feb. 18, 2021 and finishing by March 31, 2021.  …
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What’s New About Redistricting in 2020? – It’s Going To Start Late

What’s New About Redistricting in 2020? – It’s Going To Start Late

By EditorFeb 11, 2021
Really late. The pre-Covid decades were very much predictable in terms of census data releases. The apportionment data, pursuant to statute, would be delivered to the President and Congress by Dec. 31, and redistricting was delivered to the states on a rolling basis throughout March. States with early primaries in that year would get their data first. By April 1 every state would have all of the data needed to begin the redistricting process. This decade, the census data timeline has been delayed and is riddled with uncertainty. The apportionment data was promised by the Census Bureau in January, then…
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Special Citizens Voting-Age Population Tabulation Canceled by Census Bureau

Special Citizens Voting-Age Population Tabulation Canceled by Census Bureau

By EditorFeb 10, 2021
While the big news from the Census Bureau regarding the delayed apportionment and redistricting data has dominated the headlines as of late, the bureau also announced that it would be discontinuing its efforts to create a post-2020 “special tabulation” of the citizen voting-age population (CVAP). This special tab would have been a detailed estimate of the citizen voting-age population nationwide. Here is what you need to know about this development. A CVAP Special Tab is already Produced Annually by the Bureau. The special tab that was discontinued by the bureau recently is not the annual CVAP tab that it has…
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Census Bureau Announces Revised Data Release Schedule But Stops Short on Firm Date for Redistricting Data

Census Bureau Announces Revised Data Release Schedule But Stops Short on Firm Date for Redistricting Data

By EditorJan 28, 2021
The target date for apportionment data is April 30 2021. Bureau officials say a date for the release of redistricting data for the states is forthcoming, but they are certain that date will not be before July 30. A Census Bureau official made these detailed remarks on Wed, Jan. 27 to a group of legislators and staff on a conference/video call organized by the National Conference of State Legislatures. In the past, processing and preparation of apportionment and redistricting data was accomplished in a parallel process. This decade, the Bureau made the decision to focus entirely on producing the apportionment…
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Apportionment Numbers Delayed Until March

Apportionment Numbers Delayed Until March

By EditorJan 12, 2021
"Uncertainty over the timing of congressional apportionment increased Monday, as government lawyers told a federal judge the Census Bureau's new internal target date for finalizing state population counts is March 6." (Wash. Post) The remarks were made in a case management hearing for a lawsuit against the administration in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Read the Post article here.
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December Redistricting Update

December Redistricting Update

By EditorJan 04, 2021
December was all about the apportionment numbers when it comes to redistricting news. Let's get you up-to-date. White House Memo on Excluding “Aliens” from the Official Apportionment Count The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Trump v. New York on Nov. 30 pursuant to an expedited schedule given that the U.S. Census Bureau had a Dec 31 statutory deadline to report the official state population counts to be used for apportioning U.S. House seats among the states. Just before Christmas, the court released a per curiam opinion declining to decide the issue on technical grounds. The issue being whether…
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U.S. Supreme Court Decides Not to Decide Illegal Immigrant Apportionment Case

By EditorDec 18, 2020
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that the White House request to the Census Bureau to modify the population count to exclude undocumented immigrants was not ripe. The per curiam opinion explained that it was premature to resolve the issue of whether the order was constitutional since there were no apportionment numbers available at the time of the oral argument and there was no certainty how the Bureau would implement the memorandum. The wording of the memorandum ordering the Census Bureau to modify the population count gave considerable latitude to officials regarding how and to what extent it would…
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Monthly Redistricting Update: November 2020

Monthly Redistricting Update: November 2020

By EditorDec 01, 2020
The U.S. Census Bureau was the main focus for redistricting news in November and it did not disappoint. The Bureau casually and cryptically announced an unspecified delay in its post-processing of census data due to "processing anomalies;" a major development considering the outgoing Trump administration is relying on timely delivery of apportionment numbers. The Bureau's census data was also at the heart of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 30. Read the updates below. News Census Bureau Director Says “Processing Anomalies” will Delay Census Data Release Schedule (Privacy) Invariants Set for 2020 Census Data Products Listen: Supreme…
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(Privacy) Invariants Set for 2020 Census Data Products

(Privacy) Invariants Set for 2020 Census Data Products

By EditorNov 28, 2020
The U.S. Census Bureau has determined the specific files within the redistricting data release that will not be altered for privacy purposes. Or in other words, which files will have 100% true totals. They are Total state population, total housing units by census block, and group facilities by census block. For more on the Bureau's disclosure avoidance (differential privacy) program, click here. Read the entire announcement below for additional details. Invariants Set for 2020 Census Data ProductsOn November 24th, the Census Bureau’s Data Stewardship Executive Policy Committee (DSEP) finalized the list of “invariants” for the first set of 2020 Census…
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